Refrigerator Cooling

I did not see an appliance section so hopefully the HVAC category will not be far off.

I have a Maytag Side by Side Refrigerator that seems to need to be turned up almost all the way to get optimal temperature. The freezer and fridge have separate slide controls for coolness. Slide scale is 1 for least cool and 9 for most cool. I have the freezer at 7 which according to my refrigerator thermostat in the middle of the freezer is 0 degrees F. The fridge side is set to 8 and the refrigerator thermostat set on a middle shelf shows 38 degrees F.

I have vacuumed the coils on the back of the fridge and it is really clean on the back and bottom. I have checked the door seals and do not detect any leaks. On the fridge side toward the bottom there is vent going to freezer with thin piece of plastic that was flapping, so I pushed it out of the way to see if that would change the temperature.

Is it normal to turn controls up so high for ideal temperatures? Is there anything else I could check for before calling an appliance repair? I did unplug and allow to defrost for about 24 hours in case ice had formed in the vents. I put a meat thermometer in the vent on the fridge side and while running it was registering 20 degrees F. Want to ensure I don't have major problem before packing full of food.

Model #MSD2454GRW. The defrost control board was replaced about 2 years ago. When I was vaccuming the back of the fridge I was able to turn the fan blade with ease. I could pull the fridge away from wall and ensure it's running while plugged in.

Refrigerator Cooling

Difficult to trouble shoot on line. #1 you shouldn't have to change the thermostat position if it has operated properly for a while. Just a guess sounds like the defrost timer is bad. Open the doors and feel all around the inside metal and see if you see traces of ice or feel ice behind the walls . You'll know it just take your time. If you do unplug it and remove the panel you will see a coil that is a block of ice. Use a hairdryer melt all the ice . Write down the model # and order a new defrost timer. Put everything back together and replace the timer with the new one. If it's not that call a pro.

PS. The iced coil will be located in the freezer section, so that's where you check.

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Refrigerator Cooling

It sounds to me like your thermostat is bad. It is common to have to keep turning it up to maintain temperature when they go bad. You can go to either partsselect.com or repairclinic.com and search for your model number. I know that partsselect.com has a lot of "how to" videos for specific parts on specific models.